--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Managers could be tidy-minded simply…" description: "\"“Managers could be tidy-minded simply because tidiness seemed like the right and proper way to be.”\" — Tim Harford" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03a/tim-harford-12481_creative_managers-could-be-tidy-minded-simply-bec_2839565.png" --- # Managers could be tidy-minded simply because tidiness… ![“Managers could be tidy-minded simply because tidiness seemed like the right and proper way to be.” quote by Tim Harford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03a/tim-harford-12481_creative_managers-could-be-tidy-minded-simply-bec_2839565.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03a/tim-harford-12481_creative_managers-could-be-tidy-minded-simply-bec_2839565.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03a/tim-harford-12481_creative_managers-could-be-tidy-minded-simply-bec_2839565.png) > ““Managers could be tidy-minded simply because tidiness seemed like the right and proper way to be.”” [Tim Harford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-harford/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Managers may adopt tidiness because it feels appropriate and proper for their role. **In simple terms:** Tidiness can be a managerial habit for order. Key Takeaway Embrace useful organization. Themes management order habits Mood practical analytical Type business philosophical When to use this quote - office organization - project planning - personal workspace Key Concepts efficiency psychology of conformity Questions to Reflect On - When does order hinder innovation? - How to balance neatness and flexibility? A Different Perspective Tidiness can become rigid and stifle creativity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Creative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creative/) [Management](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/management/) [Tidiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tidiness/) ## Related quotes > [Men and women have different ideas of what constitutes tidiness. I tend to think it's about things being clean, but my mum and girlfriend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-thomas/men-and-women-have-different-ideas-of-what-constitutes-tidiness-i/) [Joe Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-thomas/) > [Do not think me fussy when I specify tidiness. It is essential... In printing, remember that cleanliness and order wait upon success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-j-phillips/do-not-think-me-fussy-when-i-specify-tidiness-it-is-essential-in/) [Walter J. Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-j-phillips/) > [“Extreme tidiness bespoke a cheapness of character.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-g-redling/extreme-tidiness-bespoke-a-cheapness-of-character/) [S.G. Redling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-g-redling/) > [Perfectionism means that you try desperately not to leave so much mess to clean up. But clutter and mess show us that life is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/perfectionism-means-that-you-try-desperately-not-to-leave-so-much/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [Tidiness ... makes life easier and more agreeable, does harm to no one and actually saves time and trouble to the person who practices…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/tidiness-makes-life-easier-and-more-agreeable-does-harm-to-no-one-and/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [A creative mess is better than idle tidiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-j-fox/a-creative-mess-is-better-than-idle-tidiness/) [Michael J. Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-j-fox/) > [The passion for tidiness is the historian's occupational disease.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/the-passion-for-tidiness-is-the-historian-s-occupational-disease/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [Order and tidiness is the first law of Heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brunello-cucinelli/order-and-tidiness-is-the-first-law-of-heaven/) [Brunello Cucinelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brunello-cucinelli/) > [“You can't cure inner Turmoil with outward Tidiness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sino-melo/you-can-t-cure-inner-turmoil-with-outward-tidiness/) [Sino Melo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sino-melo/) > [Tidiness makes me think of held breath, of suspended animation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/tidiness-makes-me-think-of-held-breath-of-suspended-animation/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [You know what I like to do on a Sunday morning? Clean my house. I really enjoy it; it's my ritual. I require tidiness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-rhys-meyers/you-know-what-i-like-to-do-on-a-sunday-morning-clean-my-house-i/) [Jonathan Rhys Meyers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-rhys-meyers/) > [I am a bit obsessive about tidiness. I need to make my bed in the morning and leave it perfectly made up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiefer-sutherland/i-am-a-bit-obsessive-about-tidiness-i-need-to-make-my-bed-in-the/) [Kiefer Sutherland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiefer-sutherland/) > [“She could strive for perfection only in certain, few things; beyond that, it was important only to be tidy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-coplin/she-could-strive-for-perfection-only-in-certain-few-things-beyond/) [Amanda Coplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-coplin/) > [Tidiness is a virtue, symmetry is often a constituent of beauty...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/tidiness-is-a-virtue-symmetry-is-often-a-constituent-of-beauty/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [An artist's creative energy is ephemeral as a flower. It blooms and soon dies. No artist is great forever. Personally, I think I reached…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-ki-duk/an-artist-s-creative-energy-is-ephemeral-as-a-flower-it-blooms-and/) [Kim Ki-duk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-ki-duk/) ## More by Tim Harford > [“The evolutionary algorithm--of variation and selection, repeated--searches for solutions in a world where the problems keep changing, trying all sorts of variants and doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-harford/the-evolutionary-algorithm-of-variation-and-selection-repeated/) [Tim Harford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-harford/) > [There's lots and lots of guys out there. 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He's co-editor of, and a prolific contributor to, one of the most influential blogs in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-harford/cory-doctorow-should-be-too-busy-for-lunch-he-s-co-editor-of-and-a/) [Tim Harford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-harford/) > [Accepting trial and error means accepting error. It means taking problems in our stride when a decision doesn't work out, whether through luck or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-harford/accepting-trial-and-error-means-accepting-error-it-means-taking/) [Tim Harford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-harford/) > [“Hours are long. Wages are pitiful. But sweatshops are the symptom, not the cause, of shocking global poverty. Workers go there voluntarily, which means—hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-harford/hours-are-long-wages-are-pitiful-but-sweatshops-are-the-symptom-not/) [Tim Harford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-harford/) [Explore all 53 Tim Harford quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-harford/) ## More Creative quotes > [An artist's creative energy is ephemeral as a flower. It blooms and soon dies. No artist is great forever. 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He has a tremendous, a fantastic creative urge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-shankar/what-sri-chinmoy-does-is-god-given-he-has-a-tremendous-a-fantastic/) [Ravi Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-shankar/) > [Majority decisions tend to be made without engaging the systematic thought and critical thinking skills of the individuals in the group. 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All intelligent people see this after the fact, but only the creative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-klee/the-creation-lives-as-genesis-beneath-the-visible-surface-of-the-work/) [Paul Klee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-klee/) [Browse all 7,284 Creative quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creative/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Managers could be tidy-minded simply because tidiness seemed like the right and proper way to be.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tim Harford" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-harford/managers-could-be-tidy-minded-simply-because-tidiness-seemed-like-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Creative" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-harford/managers-could-be-tidy-minded-simply-because-tidiness-seemed-like-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03a/tim-harford-12481_creative_managers-could-be-tidy-minded-simply-bec_2839565.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03a/tim-harford-12481_creative_managers-could-be-tidy-minded-simply-bec_2839565.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03a/tim-harford-12481_creative_managers-could-be-tidy-minded-simply-bec_2839565.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Managers could be tidy-minded simply because tidiness seemed like the right and proper way to be.” — Tim Harford", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Tim Harford", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-harford/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Managers could be tidy-minded simply because...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-harford/managers-could-be-tidy-minded-simply-because-tidiness-seemed-like-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-harford/managers-could-be-tidy-minded-simply-because-tidiness-seemed-like-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```